Keep Saturn in Saturnalia!

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Roman Collector, Dec 10, 2019.

  1. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    With less than a week to go until Saturnalia, I thought I'd post a coin featuring Saturn. Io Saturnalia to all! Let's see your coins depicting the god!

    [​IMG]
    "Saturnus," from a set of eight plates by Goltzius. After the monochrome paintings by Polidoro for the courtyard wall in the quarter of St. Paul's convent, on the Quirinal at Rome, now called Monte Cavallo.
    Dutch, 1592
    Printed engraving on paper
    355 mm x 212 mm
    British Museum Collection


    [​IMG]
    Gallienus, AD 253-268.
    Roman billon antoninianus, 4.26 g, 18.8 mm, 12 h.
    Antioch, 15th emission, AD 266-268.
    Obv: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
    Rev: AETERNITAS AVG, Saturn standing right, holding harpa in left hand; PXV in exergue.
    Refs: RIC 606; Göbl 1662i; Cohen 44; RCV 10170.
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2019
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  3. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    L CALPURNIUS PISO.jpg
    L CALPURNIUS PISO CAESONINUS & Q SERVILIUS CAEPIO ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS CALPURNIA
    AR Denarius
    OBVERSE: Head of Saturn facing right, harpa and legend PISO behind, CAEPIO and symbol below, Q below chin
    REVERSE: AD FRV EMV EX SC, the two quaestors seated left between 2 grain ears
    Struck at Rome 100 BC
    3.6g, 20mm
    Crawford 330/1a; Syd 6031
     
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  4. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Io Saturnalia!

    RRsaturnsemis.jpg ROMAN REPUBLIC
    Anonymous, Staff & Club Series
    AE Semis. 24.48g, 33.4mm. Etruria, 208 BC. Crawford 106/5. O: Laureate head of Saturn right, S behind. R: Prow right, S and staff above, ROMA below.
    Ex Andrew McCabe Collection, who notes that this coin is, "a heavy staff Semis, weighing 24.5 grams on a large flan, the size of an As; this is probably associated with the post-semilibral coinage, struck in the earliest campaigns in Etruria (531)"

    And Kronos, the Greek equivalent of Saturn:

    Domitian - Cilicia Flaviopolis AE18 Kronos 2346.jpg DOMITIAN
    AE18. 4.53g, 18.4mm. CILICIA, Flaviopolis, circa AD 81-96. RPC II 1760; SNG Levante 1531; SNG von Aulock 5558. O: ΔΟΜЄΤΙΑΝΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡ, laureate bust right, with slight drapery. R: ЄΤΟVC ΖΙ ΦΛΑVΙΟΠΟΛЄΙΤωΝ, veiled head of Kronos right, harpa to right.
     
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  5. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

  6. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

  7. Deacon Ray

    Deacon Ray Artist & Historian Supporter


    I’m doing my part to keep Saturn an Saturnalia :hilarious: I decided to divert our Sunday Bible Study discussion toward the topic of Christmas traditions and their Saturnalian origins. It was a fun discussion.
     
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  8. Carausius

    Carausius Brother, can you spare a sestertius?

    Saturn on BOTH sides of this Roman Republican denarius from my collection:

    4425066l.jpg

    Rome, The Republic.
    L. Appuleius Saturninus, 101 BCE.
    AR Denarius (3.92g; 18mm).
    Rome Mint.

    Obverse: Saturn driving fast quadriga right, holding harpa; ROMA in exergue.

    Reverse: Saturn driving fast quadriga right, holding harpa; ·V below; L·SATVRN in exergue.

    References: Crawford 317/2; Sydenham 580 (R6); BMCRR 1561-3; Appuleia 3.

    Provenance: Ex P&P Santamaria (4 May 1961) Lot 150.
     
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  9. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    anon. Roman Republic semis (sextantal) Saturn head / prow
    28mm 18.05g 12h Crawford 56/3
    r00400fd0291.jpg
     
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  10. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    IO SATURNALIA, all ! And thanks @Roman Collector for this thread...

    SATURN

    ROMAN REPUBLIC

    RR Anon AE Quartuncia 217-215 BC Saturn Prow BRN Cr 38-8 S 624.jpg
    RR Anon AE Quartuncia 217-215 BC Saturn Prow BRN Cr 38-8 S 624


    RR Anon AE Semis 211-207 BC Saturn S Prow ROMA S 766 Cr 56-3.jpg

    RR Anon AE Semis 211-207 BC Saturn S Prow ROMA S 766 Cr 56-3 (prob Spain)


    RR Anon AE Semis Rome after 211 BCE  Laureate hd Saturn r S - Prow r S ROMA 19.3g 26mm Craw 56-3.JPG RR Anon AE Semis Rome after 211 BCE Laureate hd Saturn r S - Prow r S ROMA 19.3g 26mm Craw 56-3


    RR Saturninus 104 BC Roma Saturn hldng Sickle Quad 2 dots-V S 193 Cr 317-3a var.JPG
    RR Saturninus 104 BC Roma Saturn hldng Sickle Quad 2 dots-V S 193 Cr 317-3a var


    RR Memmius 87 BCE AR Den Saturn SC Venus Biga Cupid S 262 Cr 349-1 Left.jpg
    RR Memmius 87 BCE AR Den Saturn SC Venus Biga Cupid S 262 Cr 349-1 Left


    upload_2019-12-13_22-47-6.png
    RR L and C Memmius L F Galeria 87 BCE AR Denarius Saturn harpa EX S C Venus Biga Cupid Sear 262 Craw 349-1 Left
     
  11. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    I really enjoy those discussions. It is interesting to watch perspectives of individuals with no concept of ancient history by imposing todays perspectives into their discussions. “Um, no, they just cant run down to the store to get some cough medicine.” “Um, no, they could not drive to another city and be there in an hour.” Fun.
     
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  12. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Io Saturnalia!

    Hmm, my lack of Roman coins is showing. This overcleaned mixed lot imitative semis is the only Saturn I have.

    [​IMG]
    Roman Republic
    anonymous and unofficial; possibly struck in Hispania c. 50-1 BCE
    Imitative semis; AE, 19x21 mm, 5.0 gm
    Obv: laureate head of Saturn right, S behind
    Rev: prow left, S above, "ROMA" below
    Ref: cf. Crawford 056/3

    Here's a Greek equivalent:

    [​IMG]
    CILICIA, Flaviopolis. Domitian
    Æ 1/3 Assarion, 17 mm, 3.2 gm.
    dated CY 17 (89/90 CE)
    Obv: ΔΟΜЄΤΙΑΝΟC ΚΑΙCΑΡ; laureate bust of Domitian right, with slight drapery
    Rev: ΦΛΑVΙΟΠΟΛЄΙΤωΝ ЄΤΟVC ΖΙ; veiled, bearded and draped male bust of Kronos right; harpa to right
    Ref: RPC II 1760
     
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  13. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Happy belated Saturnalia...

    Just got a Valerian antoninianus featuring Saturn on the reverse, and I've spent a couple hours researching it and getting confused. I wanted to bring up a few things, with RC's nice Gallienus Saturn as a compare/contrast coin:

    As RC describes his Gallienus RIC 606, Saturn is holding a harpa. That's what it looks like to me. The sources I saw all said the same thing. Not that I'm checking RC's attributions, but I was starting to get confused, since OCRE has a real mishmash of sceptres and scythes, with an occasional auction brining up harpas.

    However, in every reference - OCRE, Wildwinds, acsearch, etc. I could find, my Valerian RIC 210 has Saturn holding a scythe. But this looks like the same thing as RC's Gallienus harpa to me.

    Further complicating things is Valerian RIC 67 which has Saturn holding a sceptre - see OCRE. However, I could not find a single correct image of this coin. The ones I did find were in error and showed the same harpa/scythe. In fact all the Saturn reverses I saw had the harpa/scythe - I never did see a sceptre.

    Further complicating things, RIC 210 is usually described with a draped bust, and OCRE stating RIC 67 is draped and cuirassed. My RIC 210 - and most of them I saw online - are cuirassed as well.

    I am beginning to wonder if RIC 67 and RIC 210 are the same thing - with the bust being just draped or draped and cuirassed as a variation, with all reverse showing Saturn with a harpa/scythe. Legends are the same for both types. OCRE attributes one to Rome and the other to Antioch...but, again, is this the same coin? Or am I missing something else here?

    Here is Valerian and Gallienus with Saturn reverse, scythes, sceptres randomly described in OCRE:

    http://numismatics.org/ocre/results...ty_facet:"Valerian")+AND+deity_facet:"Saturn"

    Here's mine

    Valerian - Ant. Saturn lot Mar 2021 (0a).jpg

    Valerian I Antoninianus
    (254-255 A.D.)
    Viminacium or Antioch Mint

    IMP [C P LIC] VALERIANVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / [AE]TERNITATI AVG[G], Saturn veiled, draped, standing right, holding scythe
    RIC 210; Göbl 1559a.
    (3.63 grams / 21 mm)
    eBay Mar. 2021 Lot @ $5.63

    Attribution Notes:
    RIC 210: Saturn holding scythe; bust draped only, but this one is cuirassed, as are others online. RIC: Viminacium Mint; Göbl Antioch Mint

    RIC 67 (Rome): Saturn holding sceptre; obverse bust is cuirassed I could find no correctly-described examples.

    Any other Saturn Valerian/Gallienus antoninianii out there? Any thoughts on the difference between a harpa and a scythe? RIC 67/RIC 210 differences, if any?
     
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